Dear readers, among the ecological fertilizers of great value is the solid earthworm compost and the leachate of earthworm compost, known commercially as earthworm humus; from our point of view we avoid calling it earthworm humus, because humus is a more advanced process of the decomposition process and some producers of said product does not allow the harvested material to mature for a prolonged period so that the microorganisms continue to act and achieve that the earthworm compost is completely mineralized to obtain humic substances. From the worm composting process, solid and liquid fertilizers are obtained with which any type of crops can be fertilized.
From our point of view, vermiculture is a very efficient activity because they do not require secret formulas and a lot of dedication, because those who are responsible for the decomposition of organic matter are the worms, which consume the organic material and when they cross their digestive tract it provides a large amount of microorganism and once they defecate the material they continue with the decomposition process, in the space where organic matter is stored, it is known as a worm compost bin where micro and meso organisms make the waste generated at home or in agricultural production units valuable.
If you want to know in depth about the worm farming process, we invite you to visit the following link
As mentioned above, a solid and a liquid fertilizer can be obtained from this process, the solid is logically the result of the stored organic matter and the liquid is that it comes from the substances emitted by food when its decomposition begins, in that sense, for some time now the leachate has begun to be marketed and to obtain a greater amount of liquid they begin to irrigate the earthworm compost, sometimes due to the excess of irrigations the liquid obtained does not have a significant nutritional value. In agrotechnics, each time the liquid obtained from the worm compost is harvested, it is mixed with water and applied again to the solid compost, since the solid material is in a more advanced state of decomposition and can provide valuable substances, this strategy is carried out in the first three harvests of the liquid.
In this same order of ideas, in order for leachate to have an adequate nutritional value, the conditions of the solid compost must be considered, which has a neutral pH level preferably or very close values, because otherwise it will affect the worms and microorganism and the leachate could cause certain alterations in the soil bilogy when applied.
Therefore, if the leachate has been handled efficiently and there is a sufficient amount, we carry out the collection and it can be stored in some plastic containers where oxygen preferably circulates taking into account that the microorganisms that act develop in aerobic environments, these leachates can last for long periods of time, but it is recommended to activate the microbial load to provide oxygen by periodically opening it and removing it or you can also use a motor used in aquariums to keep the liquid moving and oxygenate, molasses can be added in a proportion of 0.5% in relation to the amount of leachate obtained, with the intention of activating the microorganism, since it is an easily fermentable carbohydrate that can be used by the microorganism as an energy source, as for the oxygenation of the leachate this can be done for three days.
| Final considerations. |
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Dear readers, vermiculture is an activity with which excellent ecological fertilizers are generated since, there is a large amount of microorganism and the species of worms used have a high capacity for reproduction and decomposition, that is to say that in a short time if you have the ideal conditions in the vermicompost, the worms will multiply quickly. Worm leachate is easy to apply to crops and we recommend doing it directly to the soil.
Thanks for reading until a next installment.
| Bibliographic references |
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- Fuentes, J. (1997). Breeding of the red worm. Ediciones Z. Colombia.
- Duque, R. (1997). Vermiculture. Ediciones Z. Colombia.
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